How to Read a Fabric Selvage: What All Those Names, Numbers & Colored Dots Mean

Things I’ve Learned Since Buying a Quilt Shop: There’s a Story Written on Every Selvage

Not too long ago, one of my customers brought in a piece of fabric with the most GORGEOUS floral print on it. It had these absolutely stunning deep purple irises, and I immediately fell in love with it.

I wanted to know who designed it, what collection it came from, who manufactured it—and most importantly, I wanted to know how I could keep an eye out for more work from that designer so I could hopefully bring some of it into the shop!

There was just one problem: we had no idea how to figure out any of that information.

Then, the next time she came into the shop, my customer thought to bring the selvage with her.

And there it was.

That little strip of fabric gave me the clues I needed to track down the original collection, the manufacturer, the designer—and ultimately the whole story behind this gorgeous fabric I'd fallen in love with.

All because she had the selvage.

Then, not long after that, I started noticing customers using those little colored dots printed along the selvage to help them find coordinating fabrics. Another lightbulb moment for this still-learning quilt shop owner: THAT'S what those dots are for! They show you the individual colors used in the print, which makes them a handy little cheat sheet when you're trying to find just the right coordinating colors.

Now, I'm sure plenty of you are reading this thinking, Well, yeah, Stephanie. I already knew that. 😂

But I'm also willing to bet there are at least a few of you who, like me, have spent years cutting off selvages without realizing just how much useful information we were throwing away.

Because it turns out, there's a whole story written on that little strip of fabric.

Depending on the manufacturer, your selvage can function almost like your fabric's ID card. It can tell you who made it, who designed it, what collection it belongs to, exactly which print and colorway you're holding—and sometimes quite a bit more.

So, for those of us who haven't been paying nearly enough attention to our selvages, let's take a closer look at what they're actually telling us...

Who made it?

One of the easiest things to spot is usually the manufacturer or fabric company—names like Moda, Robert Kaufman, Benartex, Hoffman, Riley Blake, and so on.

If you're trying to identify a mystery fabric later, knowing the manufacturer immediately gives you a MUCH smaller haystack to search through.

What collection did it come from?

Many selvages will also give you the collection name. That's especially helpful because fabric designers usually create collections of prints that are meant to work together.

So if you love one print, knowing the collection may help you track down not only more of that particular fabric, but also its coordinating prints.

Who designed it?

This is the information I was so desperately looking for with my beloved purple irises!

When the designer's name is included on the selvage, suddenly you have a whole new rabbit hole to go down. You can look up their other collections, see whether they have new fabric coming out, and discover other designs with that same artistic style you fell in love with in the first place.

(And if you happen to own a quilt shop, you can start watching for their name when you're ordering new fabric. 😆)

What EXACT fabric is it?

This may actually be the most valuable information on the whole selvage if you ever need to find that fabric again.

Look for an item, style, or SKU number—usually some combination of letters and numbers that doesn't look particularly exciting.

Don't ignore it!

That seemingly random string of characters may be the best clue you have for identifying the exact print you're holding. There may also be a color name or color number identifying the particular colorway, because the exact same print can be produced in several different colors.

If you're trying to track down another yard several years from now, searching for that identifying number and the manufacturer's name can get you a whole lot farther than Googling:

"Purple iris fabric I bought that one time." 😂

Even if the manufacturer has long since sold out of it, that information may help you find a quilt shop somewhere that still has a few yards tucked away.

And what about those colored dots?

Those little circles, squares, or other colored marks along the selvage are sometimes called color registration marks.

They correspond to the individual colors used to create the printed design. So that gorgeous print that looks like it contains a million different shades may have a neat little row along the edge showing the individual colors that went into it.

And here's the part I learned from watching my customers: they're incredibly useful for choosing coordinates.

Trying to decide whether that flower is burgundy, cranberry, wine, brick red, or some mysterious shade that apparently exists solely to make choosing a blender difficult?

Look at the selvage!

Those color marks isolate the colors from the rest of the design, making it much easier to compare them against other fabrics.

There may be even more clues.

Depending on the manufacturer and the fabric, you might also find a copyright year, company website, designer or licensing information, additional production markings, or other little bits of information.

There isn't one universal format that every fabric manufacturer follows, so not every selvage is going to tell you all of these things.

But that's part of what I've started finding so fascinating about them.

I used to see a selvage as the part of the fabric that needed to be cut off.

Now I look at it and see the trail of breadcrumbs that can lead me all the way back to where that fabric came from.

And after my experience with those purple irises, I have one very simple piece of advice:

If you really love a fabric, take a picture of the selvage before you throw it away.

You don't have to start saving every selvage you've ever cut off. (Unless you're one of those wonderfully creative people who actually makes things out of them—in which case, carry on! 😆)

Just snap a clear picture that shows the names and identifying numbers and keep it with your project photos.

Because someday you may pull out the last little scrap of that fabric and think, Oh no. I NEED more of this.

And instead of having nothing more to go on than "I think I bought it a few years ago and it had purple flowers..."

you just might have everything you need to find it again.

There really is a story written on every selvage. We just have to remember to read it before we cut it off.